CLEMSON – If you looked on Clemson social media pages and message boards, you might think the Tigers had a massive turnover problem in 2025. And after a 7-6 season, the program’s worst since 2010, that makes sense.

However, contrary to popular belief, that would largely be incorrect.

Clemson committed 15 total turnovers last year — seven interceptions (tied for third fewest in the ACC) and eight fumbles. While these numbers were not indicative of a major problem, or at least one that defined the entire season, each turnover felt like a blow to the chest after a clean 2024 campaign.

In 2024, when the Tigers won an ACC Championship and advanced to the College Football Playoff, Clemson gave away the football just 10 times, finishing first in the conference. Quarterback Cade Klubnik threw just six interceptions and the Tigers only fumbled three times.

Additionally, Clemson won the turnover margin by 16, at least a 30 percent edge over any conference opponent. 

The bottom line, in 2024, Clemson’s offense rarely turned the ball over. They retained long possessions, conducted methodical drives and scored.

The perception Clemson turned the football over too much in 2025 its actually derived from the fact the defense did not turn anyone over, a far cry from the year before. The Tigers’ 16 extra possessions in 2024 were a big deal and played a huge role in winning and losing.

When looking at what happened in 2025, what may have been more important to consider was the defensive takeaways or lack thereof. Clemson forced just 17 turnovers a year ago, down nine from the year before when they ranked second in the ACC with 26 takeaways.

In Tom Allen’s first year as defensive coordinator, Clemson was down 35 percent in forced turnovers. After nearly leading the league in interceptions in an ACC championship year, Clemson only reeled in nine in 2025.

In fact, the Tigers’ 17 forced turnovers marked the first time since 2004 that a Clemson team failed to force at least 20 turnovers in a season, while their nine picks were the fewest for the program since the 1998 team had just seven interceptions. For more context, six of those nine interceptions came from safety Ricardo Jones, who hit the transfer portal in the offseason and is now playing at Vanderbilt.

The words “turnover margin” were also a primary topic of conversation in 2023, when Clemson ultimately finished on the right side of the margin, but gave away crucial possessions to help Miami, Duke, Florida State and NC State defeat the Tigers in one possession games.

In the last three years, Clemson has had a year where offensive issues led to turnover woes, one where turnovers were a nonfactor, and most recently, when a defense’s lack of takeaways make a struggling offense seem even worse than it was.

Now, with a new offensive coordinator, quarterback and a revamped secondary, turnovers may look and feel different in 2026.

For starters, Chad Morris is back at the helm of Clemson’s offense. Morris, a believer in a high-octane offense, accepts the risk of turning the ball over more with an increased quantity of individual plays.

In his first stint at Clemson from 2011-14, Morris’ offenses won the turnover margin all four seasons. In his first season in the Upstate of South Carolina, however, Morris’ offense had one less turnover than the Tigers gained after throwing 12 interceptions.

As players grew into the offense, though, Clemson went on to win the turnover margin by six in each of Morris’ last two seasons. 

In 2026, Morris’ offense may still be turnover prone, especially with a new quarterback under center. That is why it is even more imperative that Clemson’s defense improves on its abilities to generate takeaways this season.

Unlike Morris, Allen has players that have a year of experience in his system. Since these veterans likely feel more comfortable this season, it makes sense that junior cornerback or nickel Corian Gipson might be due for a few interceptions.

Additionally last season, Allen told media members that he felt trapped, almost, in his abilities to draw up creative plays because he was so worried about his secondary getting beat down the field. As a result, Clemson could not bring as many quarterback pressures — a predicting factor of turnover success.

As a result, Allen went out this offseason and got cornerback Elliott Washington II and Donovan Starr, as well as safeties Corey Myrick and Jerome Carter III.

Carter and Myrick are both known as ballhawks. The pair, according to Allen, are also very cerebral and are seldom out of position. In other words, they understand their role in the defense and make few mistakes.

In 2026– like in 2011– Morris’ offense is designed in a way that could result in a high turnover rate. Even in his best seasons, Clemson’s offenses gave away upwards of 21-plus turnovers in three of his four-year stint, but they relied on the defense to give them the ball back, while punishing opponents with their quick style.

Similarly in 2026, it will be imperative that the defense improves its turnover rate if the Tigers want to finish with a positive margin. As Clemson’s offense finds its footing, the defense will need to stack on turnover numbers to give the Tigers more opportunities and a fighting chance to win close games.